Liverpool travel to Wigan on Wednesday knowing nothing but a win will do after Man United cranked up the pressure with an emphatic 5-0 win at West Bromwich Albion.

Alex Ferguson’s side have moved three points clear of Liverpool, with a game in hand and Liverpool facing Chelsea on Sunday. If ever there wasn’t a time to drop points, it’s at the JJB on Wednesday.

Dimitar Berbatov, Carlos Tevez and Nemandja Vidic all scored before Ronaldo added two more late on. The Baggies had Paul Robinson sent off just before half-time. United also set a new record for Premier League consecutive clean sheets, having not conceded in the league since November 8th at Arsenal – 11 games ago.

Elsewhere, former Red Emile Heskey made his debut for Aston Villa after his move from Wigan and scored the only goal against Portsmouth with a well taken half-volley. Heskey had, of course, been heavily linked with a return to Anfield before joining Martin O’Neill’s impressive Villians who moved level on points with Liverpool and further turn up the heat on Benitez’s side.

Tottenham have, incredibly, moved above Portsmouth – jumping from joint bottom to 12th – with a 3-1 win over Stoke. And Sunderland beat Fulham 1-0.

Loan Watch

Also making his debut in that game was on-loan Jermaine Pennant, starting alongside his former team-mate Peter Crouch.

In the Championship, Krisztian Nemeth began his loan spell at Blackpool, coming on as sub for the last 30 minutes but couldn’t avoid his adopted side going down 3-0 to QPR. And in League Two, Craig Lindfield started his loan move to Accrington Stanley as an unused sub as they beat Morecambe 1-0.

Meanwhile, Paul Anderson has been ruled out for six weeks after suffering a wrist injury for Nottingham Forest last Friday.

Tuesday’s Results
Portsmouth 0-1 Aston Villa
Sunderland 1-0 Fulham
Tottenham v Stoke
West Brom v Man Utd

Wednesday’s Fixtures
Blackburn v Bolton, 20:00
Chelsea v Middlesbrough, 19:45
Everton v Arsenal, 20:00
Man City v Newcastle, 19:45
West Ham v Hull, 20:00 (Sky Sports)
Wigan v Liverpool, 19:45